Category Archives: Is it Science

I understand that the study of macroeconomics is intricately and infinitely complicated. I understand that there are quite a few things that go into the energy produced and used in the United States. However, it seems to me that the way that the energy trade plays out is mind boggling.

I’m just going to lay it out as it seems. Forgive me if you are an economist.

UK energy company Centrica reached a deal today with the United States’ Cheniere that promises the shipment of 89 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually over the course of a 20 year contract. Enough to heat about 1.8 million British homes a year.

This gas will be extracted from the underbelly of the continental U.S. through the controversial method of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

So . . . this is the plan. Use a method that has shown to be detrimental to the environment to export LNG.

Meanwhile, although LNG imports are at the lowest level since 1998 in the U.S., we’re still importing over 3000 billion cubic feet annually, mostly by pipeline from Canada and Mexico.

Here’s the question. Why destroy the environment, make drinking water toxic, destroy farmland, etc. to export a product we’re just going to need to import. How is that in the interest of the American people? If we’re going to be so destructive, could it at least provide some sort of direct benefit for the people? Yes, I know business isn’t in the interest of the people. But this is the very point.

How did this happen? What is the benefit and what is the cost, and why are we standing by saying, that’s just what the world’s turned into.

I guess the message is that we are not all standing by. Everyday thousands, millions, billions of people across the world say no. They’re out there shutting down headquarters of crooked businesses, stopping their friends from bullying the new kid, cutting peanut butter sandwiches into heart shapes.

Convincing the rest of the world that there is still hope is the hard part. Putting a stop to a culture so detached from its humanity that we allow lives to be destroyed regularly, is an uphill battle. There are people out there right now on the front lines of this war. You can see them everywhere. (Mr.) Fred Rogers is quoted as once saying, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

Look for the helpers. They’re everywhere. There is as much hope that the world can change as there is fear that it will destroy itself. It’s time for your choice. Which side will you choose?

Yesterday, in Washington D.C., an interfaith group of religious leaders gathered in front of The White House. Their intention was to bring the president’s attention to the detrimental effects promised by the Keystone XL pipeline. Their intention was to gather in Lafayette Park, across from The White House, bearing three symbols: The Palms that greeted Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, The Matzoh that began as the food of the poor and afflicted but became the bread of life and freedom, and The Globe, to symbolize the planet we share.

They call themselves the Interfaith Moral Action on Climate Change, and their actions are inspired by what they see as a threat to humanity and life on our planet. In this case, the Keystone XL pipeline that could bring Alberta Tar sands oil across US soil and down to the gulf coast: this particular type of oil has been shown to be especially destructive to the environment (See my post “Who’s in Charge Here?” 3/1/13).

The President is expected to make a decision on whether to approve the pipeline: a decision he has pushed back more than once. These religious leaders, along with almost 40,000 protestors who gathered in February, want him to say no, once and for all. This is not to mention the thousands or millions at home who would rather have their planet and species endure a bit longer.

Those opposed to this project take inspiration from another spiritual leader, who paraphrases well their grand vision. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. warned:

“We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now…. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words: ’Too late’.”

These leaders have specified the demands of U.S. citizens. They urge the president to take actions, which they say are “necessary to heal our communities and the Earth”, including a permanent refusual to permits for the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

What about us? At home, in agreement that we want to preserve our natural habitat and way of life. What can we do?

We could let Obama and our other legislators know how we feel. After all, they wouldn’t have a job without us.

Also, we can talk with the purse, a loud language in our United States. For starters, think about where you put your money. If you have accounts at TD Bank (Canadian-owned), your money helps to support the $15 billion they have invested in the Alberta tar sands. Banking with local banks or credit unions puts those dollars to better use in your community, supporting small business and local jobs.

Look into other investments. Look into purchases. Being a responsible consumer takes a little extra investigation, but it means that you have some small bit of control, and some say about how the world is run. Together we have all the say.

Well, what do we say? Bleached bones and destruction? Or something else?

With our attention caught by big headline impact stories like the sequester and gun control legislation, not a few Americans have thrown up their hands in disgust wondering, Who’s in charge here?

The president addresses the sequester, breaks out the bad language and calls cuts “dumb”, Congress seems unphased. It’s obvious that the attention of most of the legislature is elsewhere, having had their fill of last minute financial penny-counting and nickel-spending.

Here we are though, trending “dumb” and reiterating how many Americans don’t like these clowns (I’ve heard as low as a 12 percent approval rate for Congress).

If we want better luck at getting to the bottom of this Who’s in Charge question, maybe we should take a page from the congressional ledger, and put our attention elsewhere, too.

Try Canada for starters. Up here in New England, we’ve been pretty far removed from the question of tar sands oil being transported through U.S. soil. TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline has been a smudge on communities from the Alberta Tar Sands to the Gulf Coast.

That’s changed since oil giant Enbridge applied last November to reverse the flow in an existing Canadian pipeline so it can pump tar sands oil from Ontario to Montreal.

Enbridge insists it does not intend to continue the west-east flow through the connecting Portland-Montreal Pipe Line, which runs through northeastern Vermont. However, it seems unlikely that Canada would be uninterested in the benefits of getting tar sands oil to a coastline for export where it can fetch a higher price (not to mention that the refineries for this type of crude are not rife in eastern Canada).

After all, the Keystone XL pipeline is set to send tar sands oil to the gulf coast via the Keystone Cushing extension and the Gulf Coast Project from Cushing, Oklahoma. This split into two pipelines was a decision made after application for the original pipe line was denied by President Obama. He later endorsed the southern section; the northern section still awaits approval.

Construction of these pipelines is done largely without due process, requiring only a Presidential Permit, issued by the secretary of state without any required public commentary or environmental review, despite the particularly devastating effects of this kind of crude (See the 2010 Kalamazoo spill).

One more note, before we head back to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. This is an address of the commonly heard argument that these kind of projects are necessary to decrease our dependency on oil from the middle east. False.

The International Energy Agency announced in its November World Energy Outlook that the United States is on target to surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s number one oil producer by 2020. That’s seven years from now. The U.S. met 83% of our own energy needs in the first six months of 2012. Is it naive to propose that we can meet the other 17% through conservation and green energy initiatives?

Who’s in charge here? Why are we allowing projects on U.S. soil that have a proven track-record of environmental destruction, and that don’t offer any benefit our citizens?

In Vermont, we like to think the people are in charge. Our legislature has introduced a bill that would apply VT Act 250 to oil and petroleum pipelines, essentially requiring what federal law does not, a land-use permit process that could include professional review and public comment.

Even here, it is an uphill battle against big money and big oil. Green Mountain Power and Vermont Gas are part of an intricate labyrinth of holding companies, whose throne is held by Enbridge.

But. The uphill battles are those that make us strongest. Instead of wondering who is in charge as disappointments pile into an outrageous hill of capitol rubbish, remember.

The choice remains everyday: to accept, or, to get involved, and make a change.

It has been happening for a while. Some 350 million years or so. Roughly.

Seed-bearing plants began to flourish sometime around the mid to late Paleozoic era. About 300 million years before the first primates, and much before the appearance 195,000 years ago of Homo Sapiens.

We have relied on plants for shelter, medicine, nourishment and spiritual ritual among many other uses. They have quite literally been our life breath, in some way, for our entire lives.

They convert the sun’s energy into usable energy for their own life cycle, and for us and other animals. The seed-bearing variety of these living organisms reproduce by forming their own unique seed, and letting go, spreading the chance for new life.

The highest court in the country heard arguments last week that could provide a dangerous precedent. Vernon Hugh Bowman is not the first farmer to go up against seed giant Monsanto.

From the outside, the case is absurd. Bowman bought unmarked soybean from a grain hopper. The seed from this hopper is usually used for animal feed, but Bowman planted it. As it turned out, some of the seed was Monsanto’s Roundup Ready soybean seed, harvested from a crop legally planted with seed bought from Monsanto.

The Supreme Court heard arguments last week on what is considered a case in patent law. Monsanto genetically engineered this seed, and therefore holds the rights to this seed. This is not just the seeds they produce and sell, it is any of this seed produced by any plant, anywhere.

This is not the first time Monsanto has flexed it’s intellectual property muscles. Bowman vs. Monsanto is only the latest in over 140 lawsuits that have resulted in about $28 million in payouts from American farmers. So, it’s not unlikely that Monsanto will prevail again.

What exactly is this saying. Essentially that a particular strain of a living organism can be patented, and owned.

Though, of course, this can only apply to a strain that the patent holder has personally manufactured through genetic alterations, it applies to a large portion of the agricultural community. In the US, 93 percent of soybeans, 86 percent of corn and 88 percent of cotton are grown from genetically engineered seed.

This interrupts the 10,000 year old tradition of agriculture, that has thrived through seed-saving techniques, and intentional planting. Of course, in relatively recent years, many larger-scale farms have stopped saving seed for themselves, preferring to purchase seed annually. However, setting a precedent that makes seed-saving essentially illegal for many farmers is reckless and an endangerment to our national well-being.

If Monsanto wins, the farmer loses. But, if Monsanto loses, perhaps agriculture will suffer even more. Monsanto has vowed not to use their “Terminator” seed technology. This seed produces plants which are sterile.

So, if the Supreme Court says that they do not own the products of their seed, perhaps they will re neg on this promise, and introduce this lethal weapon commercially. Kind of a “If I can’t have her no one can” philosophy?

What is the answer then in such a “Heads I win, Tails you lose” game? It is up to the consumer. Farmers have already seen an increase in price as Monsanto corners the seed market (Soybean prices have gone up 325 percent in the past decade). Going back to seed they had formerly used has become harder, since a decrease in demand caused scarcity. But, we have to go back, or elsewhere. Continuing the business of agriculture with companies that are not concerned with the welfare of farmers, and those that would buy the farm products, is not an option.

This is our life. But then, I’m just planting the seed.

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On Friday, Asteroid 2012 DA14 passed closer to earth than any known asteroid in history. At almost 50 meters across, this piece of planetary debris is larger than a NASA space shuttle and weighs approximately 130,000 tons.

Astronomers and hobbyists have been following the massive projectile, anticipating its arrival in our planetary orbit. This recent pass was the closest the object will likely ever come to Earth. With the help of Earth’s gravitational influence, the asteroid’s orbit around the sun will be shortened to a period of 317 days, from 368. Meaning, next time it makes a “close pass”, it will do so by about 1 million miles.

With the distraction of such a dynamic event, it is easy to see how skywatchers missed the prediction of a much smaller, unnamed object that impacted Russia, also on Friday. NASA scientists asserted that they could not have predicted that the meteoroid was on a collision course with Earth, because of its small size.

The meteor that made an appearance in Russia on Friday was about 2 meters across, tipped the cosmic scale at about 10 tons. A featherweight, to be sure. It broke off of some asteroid, but not 2012 DA14 anytime recently. It came from another direction and it was what could be called a coincidence that both the asteroid and the meteoroid came into our lives both on the 15th day of February.

A meteor is a fragment of an asteroid. An asteroid? Left-over pieces of planetary material that, orbiting the sun since the time of planetary formation. So, somewhere in Russia, there are ten new tons of matter. Has it come home at last, after some 55 million years traveling? Or have we taken on a wayward stranger, some runaway from Mercury, Venus or Saturn?

Does it make a difference? When Asteroid 2012 DA14 pulled us ever so slightly from our center, if only for a moment. That this infinitesimally small foreign object laying frozen somewhere in Russia is now ours. If we go by our theory, that even the smallest things can make a difference, then yes. Something happened here (and this type of something happens every 10 years or so). For science, perhaps the moment has passed. For us? Is it just beginning?